shanty town

A fireman douses a fire that gutted shanty town near a jail in Manila on Friday, as residents try to help. Hundreds of inmates were evacuated while thousands were left homeless after a massive fire hit a shanty town in the Philippine capital

South African residents of Masiphumelele assist firemen to extinguish a blaze that devastated parts of the informal shack settlement in Cape Town. Several shacks were destroyed in the fire which quickly spread in the overpopulated and dense shack settlement.

A policeman helps a resident away as a fire engulfs a shanty town in the financial district of Manila, Philippines on Thursday, leaving more than 1,000 people homeless, according to city officials. There were no immediate reports of casualties from the blaze.